The Natural World and Art
Some things just evolve without much planning. Emily and I tend to go to Ogunquit, Maine, after the tourists have cleared out and before things close down for the season. For the last three years we’ve joined two good friends who stay up the road in Wells around the same time, which adds to the pleasure. We do the things we might have done in high season at a third of the price: alternating walks on the Marginal Way and the beach, going out for seafood, and gabbing ourselves silly. If we time it right, we get to grab scones at the Backyard Café before it shutters for the season.
This year our friends were staying in a rental that backed up to the marshes in Wells, where we took in the dying light of late summer shimmering on the open water of the marsh. But whatever else we do, it has become a habit of making a short drive to the Wells Estuarine Research Reserve, where we walk paths through old farmland and woodlands. It’s strictly a non-taxing walk that takes us past several marsh ponds, though a mossy stone arch that leads to a few oceanfront summer homes, and onto a rocky beach–is there any other kind in Maine–and places where one could actually wade. By late September/early October, the water is as warm as it will be all year. Of course, it being Maine, that only means it takes slightly longer for feet and ankles to turn blue.
The Reserve is on the grounds of what used to be the Laudholm Farm. We tend to take a planked path through a wetland and wend our way back to a complex of buttermilk yellow buildings now used for environmental education, summer camps, workshops, and such ilk. In the fall, though, it’s quiet and a great place to have a picnic. There is also the Coastal Ecology Center Gallery that displays art inspired by nature. It’s small and shares space with a tank of (what else?) lobsters. A dozen or so paintings adorn a few walls and the vibe is utterly non-pretentious.
This year’s find was the work of Sherie Dowsett, a once-celebrated nature photography who turned to watercolor painting. She was born in England, but is an intentional New Englander who (I believe) now lives in nearby New Hampshire, as her paintings are available at the Kennedy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH. She paints a moose and a bear here and there, but mostly she shows her affinity for smaller animals, particularly birds, cats, and rabbits, all one-of-a-kind originals. The water colors below are on heavy pebbled paper (rag?), not the easiest of medium to control. In keeping with the laid-back feel of the weekend, I was totally charmed by the ones in these iPhone shots. I cropped them and took out spots on the paper left by the gallery lights, but nothing else was done. Next trip to Portsmouth I hope to see more of Dowsett’s work.
I’m not saying which of these is my favorite, but I’d love to hear which one grabs you the most.
Rob Weir
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